Are You a Boy or a Man?
by Blair.The.Adorable
Summary: A boy pushes the bounds set by proper behavior in public.


Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story, aside from the idea I put Madam Rowling's characters to and developed from there. On the upside, I do own an amazing puppy who loves to cuddle with me.

**Are You a Boy or a Man?**

_I tried to understand because I'm people too  
>And playing games is part of human nature<br>My heart's in overdrive, it's great to be alive_

_-El Debarge, Who's Johnny?_

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><p>He couldn't help it. There was not a thing in the world he could do to keep his eyes from drifting. What would she say? Well, he knew what she would say, as she'd uttered it four times in the last hour. The draw was there, though, and he was powerless to fight it.<p>

His hazel pools were glancing down infinitesimally. Breath catching in his throat as if it were a matter of life or death, rather than the silly little game he had concocted in his head, he drank in the sight appreciatively. Grasping the quill tighter betwixt his fingers, he forced himself to take this slowly; he had botched the other attempts and been caught, no less than twice in the last twenty minutes. Either he had gone too quickly or turned to directly face the object that had ensnared his attention and been discovered.

It was rather irritating, to be honest. He knew better than to rush, like an excited youth that had just touched his first boob. You had to take your time, be methodical in your approach. There would be none of this childish bullshit that got you only one or two squares aware from the starting point. He remembered back when he still referred to them as 'boobs.' Somewhere along the lines of his sixth year the term 'boob' had been tossed out of his vocabulary, rather unceremoniously at that, and been replaced with 'breast.' The connotation that 'boobs' carried was crude and juvenile. _Breasts_ sounded far more mature, while it was less likely to leave the mouth of a randy teenage boy when talking about certain aspects of the female anatomy.

Oh, blast! How long had he been staring at that single spot while thinking about breasts? Fuck, he must look like a complete wanker, staring off into space like he had been…Well, on the upside, it was probably okay to drop his gaze just a tad bit lower…

Refraining from allowing the chuckle buried deep within his throat to emerge and let itself be known, for that was something that would definitely get him caught in the act…again…he sucked in a breath. This was stressful. While the reward was something to be treasured on a level above his favorite chocolates, he was not used to having to work so hard for the instant satisfaction he could easily acquire from a cocoa infused sweet.

Phase One of the plan had been successful. She was seemingly unaware and his eyes were right where they needed to be during this stage. He was half way to his goal and, aside from himself, no one was privy to that which was going on near where they sat.

A master of sneakiness, his lips twisted into a gleeful smirk. His eyes were slipping even farther down their track, savoring every bit they came upon. This was where the boys were set apart from the men. Only those who possessed the guts needed to continue, and a level of persistence, kindly nicknamed 'stubbornness' by a few, would have the gall to proceed. This man had all of it in spades. Not the sort of spade one would dig a grave with, mind you, as he had performed that task for himself, metaphorically speaking, on numerous occasions, but the little symbol on Muggle playing cards.

Feeling cocky, down went his eyes, about an inch more. This attempt was going far better than the previous ones. Who knew this could be such a difficult task? The problem, that made this all the worse, was it wasn't something required of him to do.

It had caught his gaze for half a second before his mind went into over drive. Now, he could not focus on the lecture as his attention was being wrestled into taking in the holy sight. As a boy, one would think of this as a requirement, hell, even a right. He, however, viewed it as a privilege, despite the consequences that had arisen due to his hastily made blunders.

The end was within his grasp. It was so close; he could taste the sweet victory awaiting him. Only a few millimeters were left before his eyes would rest upon their heavenly goal. Oh, and what a goal to have it was! Most boys would give them a once over, lick their lips hungrily, and either be told off verbally or with a slap.

There were a rare few who came away from this sort of encounter without a visible, or invisible, injury marring their egos. The challenge of being inducted into that small group was alluring…he wanted it. The first four attempts had failed, yes, but that didn't mean he couldn't enter into that hallowed assembly of victorious men. He had been spotted in his previous attempts, due only to his own carelessness. The knowledge of what awaited him beckoned with an inaudible intensity similar to that of a siren's song to sailors at sea. Bloody hell…if it was calling to him, didn't that mean he wasn't a master of sneakiness? It was calling him to it.

This revelation caught him off-guard, placing a noticeable frown on his lower facial features. Immediately, that look of gloom was erased from his features, his eyes resumed their place. James Potter did not let little details get him down, not when he was so close to achieving victory! No one seemed to be the wiser, still, and that gave him a bit of a kick. Perhaps he wasn't a master of sneakiness…not just yet. He could be well on his way there, though. Even if he wasn't being all that undetectable while in the classroom at the moment, he was certainly invisible to the naked eye whenever he truly wished that to be the case.

Swelling with pride, his eyes skirted down that last treacherous plain and landed upon the sight he'd spent all this time working to see without being punished for it. A cheeky grin tugged at the edges of his lips. Out of the corner of his eyes the soft, creamy white flesh that belonged to the one girl he ever truly wanted to see it from gave him a sultry wink and whispered a husky "Hello." What he would not do to be able to reach out and caress the smooth skin that lay in wait underneath the white blouse with the top five buttons undone, a result of the warm temperature in the room. It was like they were calling to him, teasing the hungry traveler with their forbidden fruits and he was nearing the point where he couldn't resist the urge to…

"Potter, your eyes should be on the board! Not on Miss Evans and the buttons on her shirt!" Sounded a rather irritated voice at the front of the classroom.

Every head in the room twisted around to see what the professor was referring to and were met with a triumphant grin from James Potter and a mortified expression from Lily Evans, who happened to be seated directly to his left. Her burnished locks shimmered as she shook her head and glared up at him for forcing this embarrassment upon her. He couldn't help, but think how lovely she looked, even when her cheeks flamed to match her hair. The swift kick to his calve under the table and the scathing eyes he assumed were burning into his cheek as he looked to the front of the room were worth it, though.

From the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of the gorgeous red head with the titan curls. He expected to see green eyes turning black with rage directed towards him. He figured the light bruise on his calve would be the least of the hurt he would endure before the lesson was over. None of that was there.

Pink cheeks. Lovely pink turning crimson. She was not angry…just embarrassed? Not humiliated and seething? She looked…embarrassed that his slightly inappropriate behavior in a public place had been noticed, not that he had been engaging in something she would have deemed improper. Thinking back, when he had been caught in an attempt to see and appreciate her glorious bosom, she had not directed him to stop it, merely made it known she had caught him in the act. He had interpreted being caught as a cease and desist warning. Was she welcoming his interest in her now? She certainly was not saying no.

Yep. He was definitely not a master of sneakiness yet. But, oh how much fun he was going to have "training," now that he figured she might not hate him for it.

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><p>Thank you for reading all the way to the end! A huge thank you goes out to SarCoops for having helped me out by pre-reading this one-shot for me. She and I have done some pre-readingbeta work for one another, and I can attest to her brilliance. I highly recommend reading her story Fait Accompli. It is a James and Lily story set while they are still in school. You will adore it!

A second thank you goes out to YodiggityDogg. She has been patient with me, basically handheld me through figuring out the final touches this one shot needed. I could not have asked for a better beta. I sincerely thank you, ma'am.

For those who are waiting for my revised launch of Marry Me, I Beg You, I must ask you to wait a few more days. I am on the last few pages of the rewrite of the beginning, but I must wait to have it properly looked over by my beta and pre-read by the two wonderful ladies I have come to adore.


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